The College of Health (COH) at Lehigh University invites nominations and applications for the Ellen and Vincent Forlenza ’75 Endowed Chair in Health Innovation and Technology to begin August 2024. The successful candidate for this position will be appointed at the rank of Full Professor, although especially accomplished Associate Professors who qualify for tenure may be considered. 

The COH seeks a scholar whose research drives innovation in assistive or rehabilitative technologies that improve the community success, wellbeing, equity, and independence of people of all ages with disabilities as defined by The International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health: mobility/physical, SCI (spinal cord), TBI (head or traumatic brain injury), vision, hearing, cognitive/learning, psychological, and invisible. Applicants must possess an earned doctorate in a relevant field, such as but not limited to physical therapy, occupational therapy, bioengineering, computer science, data science, environmental health, epidemiology, global health, medicine, public health, and the social and behavioral sciences. We welcome candidates from academia, government, non-profit, and private sectors. 

The Forlenza Chair is a key position in the Disability Independence strategic research cluster in the College of Health, a team of interdisciplinary scholars with collective expertise in the multiple fields that contribute to increasing the autonomy and wellbeing of people with disabilities—creators of assistive technologies, experts in disability law, policy, and ethics, and community health scientists and data scientists who work with people with disabilities. The successful candidate will be expected to advance research that drives innovation in technology and/or data science towards translational improvements for people with disabilities, by engaging with these communities to design, adopt, and assess assistive technologies. The faculty member in this position will have demonstrated experience leading interdisciplinary research teams to develop assistive and rehabilitative technologies, and possess the leadership qualities and vision necessary to build the Disability Independence interdisciplinary research cluster. They will create research partnerships with community and health system partners, and will actively pursue federal, foundation, and/or private sector support for research projects. 

They will be central to university-wide efforts to advance grant-funded team science. The successful candidate will also be a passionate teacher and mentor of undergraduate and graduate students, offering courses within their areas of specialization. If desired, formal affiliation with the local or regional health systems with whom the College of Health partners is available: Good Shepherd Rehabilitation, Geisinger Health, Lehigh Valley Health Network, and St. Luke’s University Health Network. 

Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled. Fullest consideration will be given to those candidates whose materials are received by 10/1/2023. Candidates should submit a curriculum vita, a research statement, a teaching statement, a statement on their commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, and contact information for three references. A cover letter that addresses the candidate’s qualifications for this position is welcome, but not required. Lehigh has retained Ilene H. Nagel and Charles E. Kaler of Education Executives to assist with this search. Confidential inquiries, nominations, and applications should be sent via email to: 

Ilene H. Nagel and Charles E. Kaler 

Education Executives, LLC 

 Lehigh.Forlenza@edexsearch.com 

For additional information, please email INCOHFAC@lehigh.edu and indicate “Ellen and Vincent Forlenza '75 Endowed Chair” in the email. 

Founded in 1865, Lehigh University has combined outstanding academic and learning opportunities with leadership in fostering innovative research. Recognized among the nation's highly ranked research universities, Lehigh offers a rigorous academic community for nearly 7,000 students. Lehigh University has some 5,000 undergraduates, 2,000 graduate students, and about 550 full-time faculty members. Lehigh University is located in Bethlehem, PA., a vibrant and historic area. Over 820,000 people live in the Lehigh Valley, which is in close proximity to New York City and Philadelphia. Interested applicants are invited to review the College of Health website and the newly adopted Lehigh University Strategic Plan. 

Lehigh University is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital or familial status, national or ethnic origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran status. We are committed to increasing the diversity of the campus community. Lehigh University is committed to a culturally and intellectually diverse academic community and is especially interested in candidates who can contribute, through their research, teaching and/or service, to this mission. Lehigh University is the recipient of an NSF ADVANCE Institutional Transformation award for promoting the careers of women in academic sciences and engineering and is among institutions of higher education recognized for excellence in diversity with the INSIGHT into Diversity HEED Award. Additional information about Lehigh’s commitment to diversity and inclusion is available here. Lehigh University provides competitive salaries and comprehensive benefits, including domestic partner benefits. More information about Work/Life Balance for Faculty can be found here. Lehigh University supports dual career efforts for following spouses/partners of newly hired faculty. 

BACKGROUND At the core of the COH is a commitment to foster positive change in the communities where we live and work by promoting health equity. The mission of the COH, the newest of five colleges at Lehigh University, is to understand, preserve, and improve the health and well-being of domestic and global populations and communities with data-driven and community-focused research and education in three primary areas: population health, community health, and health innovation & technology. 

The COH offers undergraduate majors in Population Health, as well as Community and Global Health, and graduate degrees including a Master of Public Health, and an MS and PhD in Population Health. As our faculty grows, the COH will add an undergraduate major and minor in Biostatistics & Health Data Science, a suite of graduate degrees in Digital Health (certificate, MS, PhD), as well as a Community Health track within our existing doctorate. The distinctive experiences of undergraduates and graduate students in the COH include an innovative curriculum, robust experiential learning opportunities, and integrated career and professional development. The COH is host to three research institutes: the Institute for Indigenous Studies, the Institute for Health Policy and Politics, and the Children’s Environmental Precision Health Institute. COH faculty also may participate in Lehigh’s three interdisciplinary research institutes: the Institute for Functional Materials and Devices, the Institute for Data, Intelligent Systems, and Computation, and the Institute for Cyber Physical Infrastructure and Energy. 

The COH is located in the Health, Science, and Technology (HST) Building, Lehigh University’s newest, state-of-the-art research facility, which opened in January 2022. The innovative, flexible, and sustainably designed facility will advance Lehigh University’s research innovation in STEM. The innovative design of the building encourages interdisciplinary collaboration; develops functional neighborhoods that create a model of intensity and productivity; and engages the campus community by bringing the public into the building.